Including parents in school governance: rhetoric or reality

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to report a qualitative study exploring how parents have been included in school governance in Hong Kong and in what ways their roles have been evolving in state education. Design/methodology/approach -The qualitative method was adopted in this exploratory study, the findings of which help provide insights for conceptualization of phases of progression of the development of how parents have been included in state education in Hong Kong. The method of exploration is two-fold. First, evidence was obtained through examining Hong Kong's educational policy documents with regard to parent-school relations in the last two decades and taking reference to the literature and research studies on parent involvement in Hong Kong. Second, two focus group interviews were conducted with parents and teachers respectively, in order to obtain data of development of the relationship between home and school in times of reforms. Findings -Derived from the findings, four phases of development of how parents are included in school governance are conceptualized. They are: parents as unwelcome guests -separate responsibilities; parents as volunteers -encouraging participation; parents as clients: accountability approach; and parents as school governors -shared responsibilities. The issue of whether including parents in school governance is reality or rhetoric emerging from the data was discussed. Originality/value -The findings of this study contribute to the international studies on parent involvement in school governance, so as to formulate an effective policy that helps facilitate parents as "real" but not "rhetorical" school governors.

Involvement Practices, Socioeconomic Status, and Student Science Achievement: Insights From a Typology of Home and School Involvement Patterns

“…The present study analyzed parent and secondary school student data from Hong Kong. The focus on Hong Kong is compelling because Hong Kong schools have been encouraged to involve parents in their children’s education but there is burgeoning evidence that the state of parental involvement has not progressed beyond rhetoric (Ng, 2013; Pang, 2008). More specifically, parents and schools have long emphasized the importance of education to enhance individuals’ well-being and social mobility and cohesiveness in Hong Kong (Goodstadt, 2013).…”